Jfk Assassination Research Paper

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK) was the “where were you?” event of the 1960’s. In November of 1963, JFK was shot riding in his limo in Texas. Because the shooting was in public view of both citizens and the media, there are varying accounts for what took place that day. A government investigation, referred to as the Warren Commission, concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman of the assassination of Kennedy. In the 50 years since his murder, several other theories, related to the circumstances surrounding his death, have arisen. Because the government has been so assertive that Oswald was the single shooter, any inconsistency gives rise to alternative theories ranging from CIA involvement to a second assassin
both of which have evidentiary support. On November 22nd, 1963 John F. Kennedy, his wife (Jacqueline), and Governor John Connally were riding in a limo through Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas (Warren, Warren Commission Report). In preparation for his re-election campaign, Kennedy emphasized the importance of winning the swing states: Florida and Texas (“November 22 1963: Death of the President). Because democratic views were divided, he was in Dallas to unit them as one (“November 22 1963: Death of the President”). While driving, around 2:00 pm, the President was struck by two bullets: one in the neck and the other in the head (Pellegrini, The JFK Assassination). Governor Connally was also wounded by gunshots but the shots were not fatal (Warren, Warren Commission Report). The limo immediately sped off to the Parkland Memorial Hospital and Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1:00 pm (“November 22 1963: Death of the President”). Witnesses say that they saw a rifle fired on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository (Warren, Warren Commission Report). When the Book Depository was searched, they found a 6.5-millimeter Mannlicher Carcano Italian Rifle (Warren, Warren Commission Report). Wounds of JFK and the Governor as well as bullets found in the limo were consistent with this rifle (Warren, Warren Commission Report). This evidence was used to approach JFK’s assassinator. Lee Harvey Oswald, a recently hired employee at the Book Depository, was arrested for the assassination of the president (“November 22 1963: Death of the President”).
On November 24th, while being transferred from the police head quarters to the county jail, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby (Warren, Warren Commission Report). Johnson orchestrated a commission to investigate the assassination of JFK on November 29th. The so-called “Warren Commission” believes that Lee Harvey Oswald was the soul shooter of JFK. Oswald has a very suspicious background specifically related to his time spent in the military (Siracusa, 366). While in the military, he was convicted once for failure to register weapons and a second time for using profanity to a non-commission officer (Siracusa, 366); these actions show that Oswald has violent tendencies and lacks respect for his authorities. His experience in the military provides him with guns and weapons training. The Mannlicher Carcano Rifle, which was recovered from the Book Depository, was found to be Lee Harvey’s. “…A rifleman of Lee Harvey Oswald’s capability could have fired the shots from the rifle used in the assassination within the elapsed time of the shooting.” (Warren, Warren Commission Report). Further assistance to support the evidence found by the Warren Commission is that Oswald had attempted to kill Major General Edwin A. Walker earlier that year and also killed Patrolman J.B. Tippot on the day of the assassination of JFK (Warren, Warren Commission Report). Together this illustrates his ability to take another human life. A year after the assassination, the Warren Commission Report was released identifying Lee Harvey as the single
shooter. 40 years after the Warren Commission Report was released, an ABC News poll found that only 32% of those polled believe that that Oswald was the only shooter in the assassination. The other 68% believe that there was more to it and over many years a variety of theories have emerged; all relating to JFK and his assassination. Another common explanation behind the death includes the presents of a second gunman on a grassy hill (Pellegrini). While this theory is common, it is impossible as shots fired at the president and governor entered from behind (Warren, Warren Commission Report). Although a 1979 Congress House Assassination Committee found evidence of a forth missed shot originating from the grassy knoll, no witnesses have ever stepped forward about a spotting of the second assassin (Pellegrini). Other conspiracy theories have political motivation; for example JFK’s response to the Cold War or Bay of Pigs could have upset the CIA or other government officials. Additionally, JFK’s mob interaction could have caused retaliation against him. Because of his attention to both of these volatile situations, JFK could have been targeted for his assassination. 22% of those polled by ABC look at all of the facts on the assassination and thought up another theory; that either Oswald was a hired CIA agent or the CIA was involved in covering up the assassination. Kennedy could have become a target for assassination in 1961; when JFK was elected, as an advocate of a “stronger line”, he was thrown into a conflict of Fidel Castro (Ferrel). However, there was a bigger problem in Cuba. In April of 1961, about 1300 exiles landed in Cuban (Ferrel). Many exiles were killed and most of them were captured by the Cuban Military Forces (Ferrel); This conflict was called the “Bay of Pigs”. Due to the loss of many of our men, Kennedy would not order another attack or air strike; because of this, it is also documented that the CIA blamed JFK for not supporting their Cuban mission. Moreover, this most likely caused retaliation from the CIA. After the assassination, many of the Warren Commission investigators were replaced with CIA members. They used Officer Ray Rocca as their main contact. The CIA members were the Commissions main stream of knowledge about Lee Harvey Oswald (Ferrel). In addition to Officer Rocca, former CIA director Allen Dulles joined the Warren Commission (Ferrel). Dulles was fired from the CIA by Kennedy during his presidency (Ferrel). Most will argue that these “coincidences” are just too coincidental to be true. Due to the public nature of Kennedy’s assassination, varying accounts of his shooting have been described. The Warren Commission, influenced by the CIA, believes that Oswald was the single shooter. Coincidences related to JFK’s “Bay of Pigs” incident show that he was in conflict with the CIA, which give support that his assassination was an inside job. Moreover, its hypothesized that Lee Harvey could have been hired by the CIA to assassinate Kennedy. Because the government has refused to give further attention to these theories, it may leave citizens to contemplate what information the government has not released.

Works Cited List
Warren, Earl. "Warren Commission Report." Student Resources Content. Gale Group, 27 Sept. 1964. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
"November 22 1963: Death of the President." JohnFKennedy: Presidential Library and Museum. N.p., Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .
Pellegrini, Frank. "The JFK Assassination." TIMES. Time, 26 Mar. 2001. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Pellegrini, Frank. "The Grassy Knoll is Back." TIMES. Times, 16 May 2000. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
"Alternative Assassination Theories for John F. Kennedy." Student Resources in Context. Gale, Web. 1 Jan.